A Thank You Pear - CS40S

Hello all!!!  Wow two posts in two days!  Well, over on the Creative Sketches blog it's Thursday and time for another sketch!

The sketch this week made me stop and think for a minute and I wasn't quite sure what I was I going to do!  But once I looked at my dsp and thought of the new stamps I wanted to ink up, it just fell into place from there!  Don't you just love it when that happens?? :)

The card base is Whisper White, layered with Poppy Parade and a piece from the Pocket Full of Posies dsp.  Now, I have to admit when I first looked at this dsp in our pre-order period, I wasn't all that thrilled.  I mean I like retro and funky, but this seemed even a little funky for me!  But, I ordered to give it a try and I have to say I am glad that I did.  I've been cutting into it like crazy!

The center panel is Pear Pizzazz layered with WW.  I stamped the pear from one of the new hostess exclusive sets, Faith in Nature.  I used black staz on and then watercolored with the different stamp pad lids.  I really like how my pear turned out!  Not sure how much you can see, but I spritzed it with my Soft Suede marker after.  The sentiment is stamped in Poppy And a piece of linen thread is also wrapped around it.

The double ribbon strips are punched from So Saffron and then pearls are attached.  The entire center panel is is up on dimensionals.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~~Ann~~~

GCA #137 - Buy Anything New Lately???

Hello all!!!  Yes, I seem to be behind the eight ball lately!  Leaving for convention next week and I spent the entire weekend working on my swaps to get ready.  Besides doing the normal things like laundry, starting to pack, buying groceries and dealing with a totally annoying (non-life threatening) family drama.  My friend who is going out to convention with me and I, are driving out to Salt Lake City!!!!  Are we crazy you ask??  Maybe, but we are going to see how it goes!  We've traveled several times before and do it fine together.  I'm just excited to be going!

So, in reference to the new catalog year with Stampin' Up!, have you seen it?  I love this catalog and think it just may be one of my faves.  I'm trying very hard to resist buying anything from the catalog until after convention.  We did have a pre-order period of sneak peek products and that is what I have to show you today.  Two card, actually!!  So I'm going to keep the descriptions short.

Both of the cards use one of the new In-Colors - Pool Party!  Think this is my new fave!!  They also use Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi and WW.

The first card uses the new Pennant Parade set along with the co-ordinating Pennant Punch.This is a double punch that gives you both the scalloped one and the smaller layered pennant.  The "Thank U" is in the set.  The dsp is from the new set of "Just Add Cake".  White baker's twine was used to string the pennant's "together".

The second card uses the Touch of Kindness set from the current Summer mini.  New to me since I just ordered it!  It is the most delightful set, too!  I watercolored the birdbath and such and then on the water drops I added some of smooch paint, but you can't see it very well.  The belly of the kitty is paper pieced.  One other brand new item this year is the Lace Ribbon border punch.  OMG!!!!  I'm in love!!!

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by July 9, 2011 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts, Stampin' Connection (for SU! demos) or Stamp TV, please put GCA137 in your keywords. That way everyone can see all of the wonderful creations at once!


Even if you can't make the deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenges and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~~ 

Do Not Open Till....

Hello all!!!!  Thursday means another sketch over at the Creative Sketches blog.  But this week is the added the twist of also making your card a holiday card!!!  Any holiday will do, I just chose to make a Christmas card.  Never to early to get started on those!

I started with a Cherry Cobbler base, top folded, and layered with a piece of Deck the Halls dsp.  I also used the Deck the Halls fabric for my "ribbon", which I actually tied all the way around the card front!  (That means inside too, which I rarely do.)


The sketch shows the front panel straight, but I slightly tipped it once I picked out my stamp set to use.  The set I used on here is Winter Post and will be found in the new 2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalog due out July 1st!

What is hard to see in the photo is the piece on the smaller Cherry Cobbler panel.  This was actually sprayed with the gold Smooch Spritz onto Whisper White and dried.  It does curl it up as it's drying, but I was able to straighten it out and I did use the Tombow glue to adhere it.  Then I knew it was going to stay down!  This was actually left from another idea that didn't pan out.  I also spritzed the Soft Suede marker over some areas before stamping the postmark in Cherry Cobbler.

The couple were stamped in brown staz on and water-colored with the ink from the stamp lids and an aquapainter.  Once that was dry I went over some areas with a marker for highlights.  Soft Suede ink was sponged around the edges and the smallest of the pearls put on each scallop.  The "Do Not Open" tag is stamped in Cherry Cobbler onto the same gold Smooch paper and punched out with the Designer Label Punch.  A lot of dimension going on with the image panel too!

I was trying for a vintage look here.  Did I succeed??

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

It's A Celebration with Sock Monkey - DIC137!!!!

Hello all!!!  Here we are at Thursday again and time for another UDI Blog Inspiration challenge.  The piece that Maria provided us is a very calm and relaxing table setting, but I took some liberties with the piece and used a few other colors.

Finally here is my sample!!! Time just got away from me this week!  I decided to cover 2 challenges in one with this card.  My UDI sample, using the the colors of the inspiration piece of white, blue and a touch of pale green.  The other challenge is for the Late Night Stampers weekly challenge and this week it is to create a kids card!  Next to creating a masculine card, I find these just as difficult!!!

So when thinking of kids right away I thought of Sock Monkey.  And he hadn't seen any ink for awhile so I thought it was time!  LOL!  He was stamped onto Whisper White in black staz on and then watercolored with Crumb Cake and aquapainter.  The dsp I used is the Celebrations set, and is perfect for creating those kids cards with the bold primary colors.  I stamped him on the side I wanted and then cut out the parts and pieces.  Since I used the striped side I when I stamped him I tried to keep the stripes all going the same way.  I think I did ok!  Once he was put together I popped him on dimensionals and attached him to the card!

The cupcake was again stamped in Whisper White and then Pear Pizzaz for the holder.  I colored the "frosting" with the Soft Suede marker and covered it with Crystal Effects.  The cupcake is popped up with another dimensional.  I also added the Champagne glass glitter to the flame, but it's hard to see.

Not too sure about the ribbon tabs and glimmer brads, but I wasn't going to fuss with it once they were on there!  Dry embossed the top part of the Whisper White card base with the Perfect Polka Dots folder.  Even the panel across the front is popped up with dimensionals!!  Love my dimensionals!!
 
Please check out the UDI Blog and the other designers.  And play along this week!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

A Nature Thank You - DIC128

Hello all!!  This week the UDI inspiration piece is 3 very yummy looking cocktails.  Each in their own fabulous color.

I mainly went with the colors from the piece to build my card, but still not quite sure how the cocktails translate to birds!!!  Anyway, I love how this came out and I just love this new set coming out in the Occasions mini, January 4th!!!

While the overall look of the card is clean, it not necessarily simple!!!  I combined alot of techniques on this card, once again!

The first is using the dry embossed method with the new Framed Tulips embossing folder and Perfect Polka Dots folder.  However, the fun part is that I double embossed them!  To do this you run your secondary folder through first and then place your card stock into your primary folder and run it through the Big Shot again.  You will still notice the secondary embossing, but just not as pronounced.

The second technique I did was Out-of-the Box.  This is a fun and fairly easy technique to do.  The tough part is making sure you don't cut into your image when trying to trim part of the card stock away.  To do this you stamp your image onto the card stock and then trim away parts of it.  You should cut your card stock as close to the size you want to end up with.  The idea is to leave part of the image "cut out" of the card stock.

The third technique is watercoloring.  Pulled out my watercolor wonder crayons and blender pen, and colored away.  Not sure if there is a bird this color in real life, but I think it's pretty!  The eggs were colored with markers direct to the stamp and then cut out. 

I couldn't resist the fly on here, since the cocktails are fruity and flies also come around with the sweet things!!

If you have a chance to play this week, check out the UDI Blog and see what you come up with.

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Girl in Christmas Red - DIC125

Hello all!!!  With Christmas right around the corner, the inspiration pieces on the UDI Blog are all about Christmas.  I had ideas for my card this week, but in getting ready for my own Christmas projects, I ran out of time!!!  So this one is quick and simple.

At my Christmas card club this year we made this card and the ladies loved how easy it was.

I used Old Olive for the card base, a strip of the Holly Jolly dsp, Cherry Cobbler square and layered with a Very Vanilla scalloped square.

The scalloped square was cut using the Big Shot and the duo scallop die in the Holiday mini.  It fits so well with the large clear scallop square.  The image is embossed with black craft and black embossing powder and then watercolored.  We used ink from the stamp pads to watercolor and an aquapainter.  While watercoloring is not my forte, I do enjoy it and keep trying to improve my skills.

I still needed to add something, so I put a scallop edge in Old Olive on here.

So, check out the UDI Blog if you get a moment and play along.

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Caffeine is a Vitamin - DIC121!!

Hello all and Happy Thursday!!!  And Happy Vetrans Day to all of our vetrans, past and present!  Without you this country would not be the safe haven we all love.  Thank you.

This week on the UDI blog Inspiration challenge, Maria provided us a picture of a yummy cup of coffee/lattee.  Either one I'm good with!!  So, I decided to pull out my Morning Cup set, which I HAD to have, and decided to ink it up!

The card base is Very Vanilla, layered with Soft Suede and then dsp from the Blueberry Crisp set.  On here it kind of reminded me of vintage wallpaper.

The large scallop circle is cut from the scallops #2 die in Marina Mist.  The smaller one, is punched from the 2 3/8" scallop punch.  The Very Vanilla image layer is punched with the 1 3/4" circle punch.

Lots of dimension going on here too.  The Soft Suede center strip, and each of the scallop circles are popped up.

I stamped the cups in brown staz on and watercolored them with my aquapainter and ink from the stamp lids.  It's hard to see, but on two of the cups I used my white gel pen for some highlights.  I used the Soft Suede ink pad directly on the circle layer for shading.

A piece of Chantilly lace and Vanilla Seam Binding and some stick on pearls, and we're done!

The sketch is this week's SCS306 over on Splitcoast.

Don't forget to check out the UDI Blog for rest of the design team cards!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

A Fruitful Thanks - DIC115

Hello all!!!  This week for the UDI inspiration challenge I stretched the design slightly.  (Actually, as I am out-of-town this week, and worked so much on stuff for this upcoming weekend, I am using a card I made a little while ago!!!)  Please Maria, don't shoot me!  Check out the UDI Blog to see the inspiration piece, a gumball machine, and play along if you can!

This card is a "tent topper" card.  You can create these several ways, but I usually like to make mine with a rounded topper.  But, I have made them with a square topper.  On here I used the scallops #2 die, large size, and the Circle Scissors plus to make the inside circle with Shimmery White.  The scallop is made using Daffodil Delight and finished with piercing in each of the scallops.

Now, to make your base, you make it 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 square and when you put the topper on, line it up to make it no longer than 5 1/2.  That way you can still put it into a regular A2 envelope.  I layered my base, made with Riding Hood Red, with Whisper White and Greenhouse Gala dsp.  I used the Daffodil Delight ornate flower pattern.  My sentiment is  stamped in Black Craft and clear embossed.

The white organdy ribbon was tied on my bowmaker and then fastened on the back of the Whisper White layer.  The topper portion was attached using dimensionals.  I get very picky about making sure the image is straight and I don't go past the 5 1/2 length.  Using my grid paper from SU! is perfect for this!!

My stamp set I used is Studio Sketches, and I almost didn't buy this!  This is one of the pre-order sets we could purchase before the new catalog came out.  I am not the greatest with watercoloring, but this set really makes it easier than it looks!  I colored the pears with the Pear Pizazz marker, along the edges, and then used my aquapainter to pull the color up in the rest of the image.  The  Shimmery White cardstock is awesome to watercolor on!!  The apples were stamped, colored the same as the pears using the Soft Suede and Riding Hood Red markers, cut out and popped up with dimensionals.

Actually I don't think I strayed to far from the inspiration piece, as it is a gumball machine and I did use a rounded tent topper and similar colors!

Don't forget to  check out the UDI Blog if you have a minute and play along with us!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Watercolored Thank You - DIC112

Hello all!!!  It's Thursday and time for another UDI Inspiration challenge.  This week Maria has a picture of crayons, in the bold/primary colors, perfect for school!  Well, that's where I thought I was going with this card!!  About the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to have a white card base!  Sometimes I love how a card takes on it's own life and others I don't.  This card I do.

The card base is Whisper White and folded at the top.  I used an older set, Fresh Cuts, that allows for coloring and adding other colors into the card.  I first stamped the image in Black craft and then clear embossed.  The images on here were colored, roughly, with my SU! markers: Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive.  Then I went over those images with the aquapainter to smooth and soften them.  There was still too much white showing, so I used the Crumb Cake ink pad and aquapainter and "aged" the white space.  And since I can't seem to stop when I'm ahead, I spritzed it with my Pacific Point marker.  Little darker than I wanted, but I still like how it turned out.

The Old Olive scalloped strip was a leftover on my table and just happened to fit on here!  Don't you love it when that happens??  The strip of dsp is from the Blueberry Crisp set.  I used the checked/grid pattern to pick up the "school" feel of the crayons!

To finish it off I used a 1/2" library clip and wrapped Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta ribbon around it.  These clips are thick, so I used double dimensionals on the back panel!!  Will need to pad this well if I mail it!  And, to balance out the silver from the clip, I used the new SU! basic rhinestone jewels on the scallops.  Love those!!

If you have a minute, check out the UDI Blog and see what the other girls on the Inspiration team came up with!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Thank You in Sketches - Sneak Peek goodies!!!

Hello all!!!  I received my sneak peek goodies yesterday and put together two cards yesterday.  LOVE what I ordered so far.  Not a lot of time to play yet, but I will this weekend!

This is using the new set "Studio Sketches" from the sneak peek. The sentiment is using the new Level 3 hostess, a partial. I used the Early Espresso marker to ink up the thank you.

I stamped the image in the new Early Espresso on watercolor paper and used my aquapainter to "smear" the ink. Watercoloring is not my strong point, so I almost didn't order this set. But, I am glad I did.

The pears were colored with the new Pear Pizazz marker, cut out and popped up.

The base card is Crumb Cake and the other colors I used are Pear Pizazz, Peach Parfait and Early Espresso.

The sentiment is from the new Level 3 hostess set, Occasional Quotes.  I used my Early Espresso marker to color just the thank you portion.

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #54 - Watercoloring!!

Hello all!!! This week we are trying our hand at watercoloring!!! Now don't start moaning and groaning, as this can be achieved in may ways!

For example:

* Watercolor Wonder Crayons

* Re-inkers

* Ink off your lid cover

* Using actual watercolors!!!

And many more, which if you visit the Resources section on SCS you can find complete tutorials.

I am not a great watercolor person myself, but I do like to use my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a blender pen to get that effect. You can also use an aquapainter or a regular paintbrush. Of course, having open line images goes without saying!!

Well, this isn't a new card, but one I had in my archives! (Did get the camera though!!) I used my watercolor wonder crayons on here and a blender pen. This is my "go to" choice for watercoloring, but I have used my blender pen and ink lids too. This set is from Treehouse Stamps and I'm not sure it's still available. The cardstock colors of Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal, Mellow Moss and Creamy Caramel are from an old CC on SCS.

So, the challenge this week is to make a card, project or scrapbook page with any type of watercolored images, upload it either to your blog, or to an online gallery and post a link to your card to this blog entry as a comment by August 22, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random drawing and post the next Sunday.

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenge and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! If you upload your card on SCS, Stampin' Addicts or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA54(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 54) in the keyword section.That way everyone can look at all of the creations at once! If you've been waiting to join in the fun, jump on in and have some fun!! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~